AUGUST 8, 1938

HYDE PARK, Sunday—At last there is some relief from this warm weather which has made so many
people uncomfortable! Having taken iced coffee for supper Friday night, I was able
to read late in bed and feel the delicious change in the atmosphere which came toward
early morning.

When I went into Poughkeepsie yesterday morning to have some of the salt I had accumulated
washed out of my hair, the first thing my hairdresser said was: "How glad I am that
my vacation begins this evening! The heat has made me feel I simply cannot move."

The priviledged ones among us, who vacation all the time, at least to the extent that
all we do we do from choice, miss a good deal probably in not planning and anticipating
the time when we choose our own occupations.

It was fun running around yesterday morning doing the household buying. I stopped
for a second to speak to a crippled man who sits in a chair selling papers on the
corner of a Poughkeepsie street. He sits there winter and summer and I have come to
count on his cheerful smile and pleasant greeting. What courage it must take! Yesterday,
he and a little colored newsboy were busy solving some problem and I imagine he does
many helpful things for these youngsters. Most of us would feel that our ability to
help anyone else had reached the vanishing point if we were in his shoes.

I am reading a book written by Betty and Ernest Lindley called "A New Deal For Youth."
It was written as a report for the President on the activities of the Youth Administration,
but it is far more than a report. It is interestingly written and, in addition, it
gives the picture of youth in this country as it appears to the eyes of trained observers
who are seeing this side of the nation for the first time. The facts these two writers
set forth simply corroborate the findings of the Youth Commission.

The problem to deal with is here for us. The authors go on to show what the Government
has been able to do for a very small percentage of those who need assistance. This
is valuable chiefly because it stirs the imagination and makes one hope that this
younger generation can work out new problems in new ways. I find this book interesting
and have gained much knowledge from it in spite of the fact that I have tried to follow
this work rather closely, just as I try to be familiar with much else that youth does
along many lines.

I hope people reading this book will not be content with reading alone, but will find
out what is going on in their communities and lend a helping hand. Youth needs the
praise and counsel of older heads more than the blame and criticism which so often comes its way if it makes some mistake or indulges in some foolish adventure.